Rev. Talbert Swan Interviews with Jim Madigan of WGBY
Watch Connecting Point 1/21/2013 on PBS. See more from Connecting Point.
The Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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NAACP Statement on Concerns with Springfield Fire Department/Proposal to Change Ordinance
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Springfield Mayor Proposal to Reduce Requirements for Fire Commissioner Example of Institutional Racism
Springfield Branch President, Rev. Talbert W. Swan, II sent the following letter to Mayor Domenic J. Sarno
Springfield NAACP letter to Mayor Sarno re: Proposed Fire Commissioner Ordinance Change
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NAACP Working to Protect Churches Following 2012 Election
Concern comes after 2008 church arson
Published : Tuesday, 25 Sep 2012, 10:14 AM EDT
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The President of the Springfield NAACP believes America’s racial climate is worse than it was four years ago, and he’s Springfield’s African-American Churches to protect themselves on election night.
Rev. Talbert Swan wrote to each local African American church pastor, to alert them to the possibility of election night vandalism.
Bishop Bryant Robinson’s nearly-finished Macedonia Church of God in Christ was burned to the ground the night Barack Obama was elected president four years ago. Read more…
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The Black Church & HIV: Social Justice Imperative
Throughout our history, the NAACP has fought to combat policies and practices that undermine human rights and social justice. HIV is now one of these important issues for our community. Black people are more likely to become infected, less likely to know they have the disease and more likely to die from HIV/AIDS than any other race. Visit http://www.theblackchurchandhiv.org to learn what you can do in your faith community.
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NAACP to Sponsor Black History Month Lecture Series at Spring of Hope Church
The second annual “Lift Every Voice” free lecture series in celebration of Black History Month will be held Tuesday during the month of February at 6:30 p.m. at the Spring of Hope Church, 35 Alden Street, Springfield. The series is presented by COGIC Family Services, the church and the Springfield branch of the NAACP.
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We Will Stand: Defending Voting Rights
In collaboration with Brave New Foundation, the NAACP has put together a new video about the impact of the voting right attacks on communities of color. Please take a moment to watch and spread the message to everyone you know, then text STAND to 62227 to join our fight for voting rights
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The era of the ‘non-apology apology,’ where too little is too much for some
Published: Thursday, December 22, 2011
By Conor Berry, The Republican
Easthampton City Councilor Donald Cykowski
“I’m sorry if what I said offended you.”
Welcome to the era of the “non-apology apology,” in which phrases like that abound in the corridors of power, where many leaders have become adept at deflecting criticism by co-opting others into the scenario – namely the aggrieved parties, who are often made out to be humorless, thin-skinned ninnies.
In short, the non-apology apology typically involves an alleged offender who attempts to save face while placating the party that was offended. Curiously, though, those who deliver such backhanded apologies never seem to own up to their wrongheadedness.
The practice of issuing non-apolgy apologies has become so common, in fact, that someone felt the need to create a Wikepedia entry on the phenomenon. And New York Times veteran William Schneider inadvertently coined a new phrase when he referred to the practice as “the past exonerative,” or seeming to apologize while not taking any personal responsibility for the presumed offense. Read more…
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Rev. Talbert Swan to address ‘inflammatory comments’ linked to police shooting case
By Conor Berry, The Republican, November 14, 2011
Talbet Swan, left, and Tahiem Goffe.
SPRINGFIELD — The Rev. Talbert Swan II, pastor of The Spring of Hope Church Of God In Christ, said he plans to discuss his call for an independent probe into a recent fatal police shooting of an alleged car thief and subsequent “inflammatory comments” posted on MassLive, the website of The Republican.
Swan said the issues will be discussed on his “Spoken Word” radio program on WTCC 90.7 FM on Monday at 9 a.m.
On Friday, Swan, Springfield branch president of the NAACP, voiced support for an independent probe into the shooting of 18-year-old Tahiem Goffe by Springfield police.
Officer Matthew Benoit and other officers pursued Goffe as he drove a stolen car on Taylor Street early on the morning of Nov. 6, police said. After cruisers caught up with the stolen vehicle, Goffe drove directly at officers, striking and injuring Benoit, police said. Benoit fired his gun in self-defense, police said.
The Springfield Police Department is conducting an internal review of the incident, and Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni has pledged to “review the police investigation.” State police ballistics investigators also will participate in the review, Mastroianni said. Read more…
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Your Comments: Readers react to NAACP president Talbert Swan’s call for indpendent probe into police shooting of suspected car thief accused of running down officer
By Conor Berry, The Republican, November 13, 2011
Talbet Swan, left, and Tahiem Goffe.
SPRINGFIELD — Frantic calls of “shots fired,” followed quickly by reports of a gunshot victim and an officer down, elicited a swift response from Springfield police during the wee hours of Nov. 6.
When the dust settled on Taylor Street, an 18-year-old driving a stolen car was shot once by police, who claimed the teen struck and injured an officer while attempting to mow down cops with a sedan.
The Rev. Talbert W. Swan II, Springfield branch president of the NAACP, has called for an “independent investigation” into the shooting of Tahiem Goffe, who later died from his gunshot wound.
Swan said the local NAACP chapter “is requesting an independent investigation to ensure that proper police procedures were employed and that the investigation will not be compromised.”
Police officials said the officer involved in the shooting acted in self-defense, or as Springfield Police Department spokesman Sgt. John M. Delaney put it, the officer fired “to possibly save his life.”
Meanwhile, Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni has pledged to review the shooting to determine if the officer’s use of lethal force was justified. “My policy is to review all police shootings,” Mastroianni said last week.
The Springfield Police Department Detective Bureau is doing an internal investigation, and a Massachusetts State Police ballistics team is looking at the evidence, according to Mastroianni. “We will review the police investigation,” the district attorney said.
At a minimum, Swan has said that he hopes the results of Mastroianni’s review are transparent and made available to the public. Read more…
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